The Ducks entered the holiday break with a tenuous grip on the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 40 points and a slew of clubs jockeying for position (three teams tied at 39 points).
It's an impressive feat for the Ducks considering the glut of injuries that befell the squad. They lead the NHL by a wide margin in man-games lost, but the quality of players forced to the sideline can't be measured.
They began the season with No. 2 center Ryan Kesler still on the mend following offseason hip surgery, but he's inching ever closer to his season debut.